Reel Film: In praise of classic theaters

10:20 PM,
Feb. 13, 2014

Charlton Heston stars as Moses in a scene from the motion picture "The Ten Commandments."

Written by

Larry Robinson
For the Poughkeepsie Journal

Today we see our movies in cramped 'plexes marked by numbers, but I once watched films in places that were palaces - literally!

Yes, there were theaters grandly named the Palace. Among others were the Pix, Colony, the Rome, Music Hall, Cameo, Criterion and the spacious RKO, in downtown White Plains, which had marble statues, opera-style boxes and often crisply uniformed ushers.

My late friend Robbie and I saw a horror film at the legendary Paramount - yes, that Paramount, when Times Square was still Times Square. We had that famous, cavernous place to ourselves that afternoon, our first ...